Pics and prices: Dry cows sell to a top price of €1,850/head at Elphin Mart

Elphin Mart’s weekly cattle sale took place on Monday evening last (March 27). A large crowd attended the sale that kicked off at 6:00pm. The trade was driven by farmers as they competed for cattle at the mart.

The manager Gerry Connellan was very happy with the trade on the night and outlined that there was a smashing demand for dry cows. He also outlined the current grass situation in the area.

He said: “Farmers are sourcing stock. The trade is very good considering the bad weather and slow growth. We will be alright if the weather picks up now, but if this winter goes on any longer we’ll be in bother.”

“Farmers have little grass outside, but their fodder stocks are starting to run scarce too; we need the weather to pick up so we can start grazing.

“Generally speaking, the trade is very good all over the country given the weather conditions,” Gerry explained.

“A smaller sale took place on Monday on the back of the bank holiday last week and Easter Monday in seven days time. That sale is a huge sale for us; we have 400 weanling bulls and 350 weanling heifers booked in already.”

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On the night, dry cows were very much in demand and the trade for these lots was brisk from start to finish; a 100% clearance rate was recorded. These lots sold for €640-1,850/head. A top-price of €1,850 was achieved by a Charolais cow weighing 890kg.

Click on a thumbnail in the gallery (below) to open up a full-size image; once opened you can scroll sideways to see the next picture. Refer to each caption to see details of each lot, including the sale price.

This 785kg, March-2013 born, Charolais cow sold for €1,640

This 650kg, June-2007 born, Charolais cow made €1,100

This 515kg, June-2008 born, Limousin cow sold for €840

This 475kg, June-2013 born, Charolais cow sold for €720

This 820kg, April-2010 born, Charolais cow sold for €1,735

This 690kg, April-2013 born, Limousin cow made €1,550

This 775kg, January-2013 born, Limousin cow sold for €1,540

This 725kg, July-2013 born, Limousin cow sold for €1,385

This 715kg, March-2008 born, Charolais cow sold for €1,280

This 715kg, April-2003 born, Limousin cow sold for €1,335

This 640kg, May-2002 born, Limousin cow made €1,165

This 775kg, March-2006 born, Belgian Blue cow made €1,350

This 600kg, June-2008 born, Aberdeen Angus cow sold for €1,105

This 700kg, April-2006 born, Charolais cow sold for €1,265

This 665kg, February-2010 born, Charolais cow sold for €1,230

Weanlings

Bulls

The quality of stock was high and this was reflected in the trade; a 100% clearance rate was achieved on the night. The majority of bulls sold to over €3.00/kg; these lots traded for €520-1,195/head.

This 320kg, August-2017 born, Charolais bull sold for €1,085 or €3.39/kg

This 315kg, August-2017 born, Charolais bull made €1,065 or €3.38/kg

This 370kg, August-2017 born, Charolais bull sold for €1,195 or 3.30/kg

This 305kg, December-2017 born, Charolais bull sold for €990 or €3.25/kg

This 270kg, December-2017 born, Simmental bull sold for €790 or €2.92/kg

This 345kg, July-2017 born, Charolais bull sold for €1,080 or €3.13/kg

This 270kg, June-2017 born, Aberdeen Angus bull made €760 or €2.81/kg

This 235kg, July-2017 born, Limousin bull sold for €650 or €2.76/kg

This 245kg, July-2017 born, Charolais bull made €720 or €2.93/kg

This 320kg, July-2017 born, Charolais bull sold for €1,170 or €3.65/kg

This 355kg, March-2017 born, Charolais bull sold for €990 or €2.78/kg

This 355kg, June-2017 born, Charolais bull sold for €1,075 or €3.02/kg

This 400kg, March-2017 born, Charolais bull sold for €1,070 or €2.67/kg

This 310kg, June-2017 born, Charolais bull made €1,065 or €3.43/kg

This 390kg, March-2017 born, Charolais bull sold for €1,020 or €2.61/kg

Heifers

Weanling heifers proved to be an easier trade – especially the plainer types. However, quality animals sold in excess of €3.00/kg. Generally speaking, these lots made €600-980/head.

This 235kg, September-2017 born, Limousin heifer made €785 or €3.34/kg

These 302kg, May-2017 born, Charolais heifers sold for €1,000 or €3.31/kg